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The White House Gives Up on Limiting Emergency Contraception Sales

The Obama administration gave up their fight to keep age limits on sales of over-the-counter emergency contraception pill Plan B on Monday. This, effectively, means that women of all ages will soon be able to buy the Plan B "morning after" pill without an ID, something the FDA OK'd way back in 2011. This could mark the kind of quiet end to a years-long fight by the administration to keep age restrictions in place.

The New York Times notes that the administration's decision to drop the case was quite possibly an effort to avoid making the issue even more high-profile than it already is, based on their chances for an appeal:

"The Justice Department appears to have concluded that it might lose its case with the appeals court and would have to decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. That would drastically elevate the debate over the politically delicate issue for Mr. Obama."

This is a big win for reproductive rights advocates, but it's far from the finale to the fight over emergency contraceptive access. Once Plan B does go on sale without a prescription, as the Associated Press notes, the debate could turn to making cheaper generic versions of the brand-name drug available without a prescription, too.